Career and Education Opportunities for Signal and Track Switch Repairers in Rancho Cucamonga, California

If you want to be a signal and track switch repairer, the Rancho Cucamonga, California area offers many opportunities both for education and employment. The national trend for signal and track switch repairers sees this job pool growing by about 1.1% over the next eight years. Signal and track switch repairers generally install, inspect, or repair electric gate crossings, signals, or intercommunications systems within a railroad system.

The average wage in the general category of Railroad jobs is $28 per hour or $58,040 per year in California, and an average of $23 per hour or $47,190 per year nationwide.

The Rancho Cucamonga area is home to twenty-seven schools of higher education, including two within twenty-five miles of Rancho Cucamonga where you can get a degree as a signal and track switch repairer. Signal and track switch repairers usually hold an Associate's, or other 2-year degree, so you can expect to spend about two years studying to be a signal and track switch repairer if you already have a high school diploma.

CAREER DESCRIPTION: Signal and Track Switch Repairer

Signal and track switch repairers drive motor vehicles to job sites. They also remove faulty wiring or burned-out light bulbs. Equally important, signal and track switch repairers have to examine and test operations, mechanical parts, and circuitry of gate crossings and signal equipment such as interlocks and hotbox detectors. They are often called upon to examine and remove batteries as needed. They are expected to clean lenses of lamps with cloths and solvents. Finally, signal and track switch repairers examine electrical units of railroad grade crossing gates and repair loose bolts and faulty electrical connections and parts.

Every day, signal and track switch repairers are expected to be able to understand events and object details at a distance. They need to evaluate problems as they arise. It is also important that they visualize how things come together and can be organized.

It is important for signal and track switch repairers to lubricate moving parts on gate-crossing mechanisms and swinging signals. They are often called upon to examine switch-controlling mechanisms on trolley wires and in track beds, using hand tools and test equipment. Somewhat less frequently, signal and track switch repairers are also expected to record and report data related to mileage or track inspected, fixes performed, and equipment requiring replacement.

They also have to be able to record and report data related to mileage or track inspected, fixes performed, and equipment requiring replacement and examine electrical units of railroad grade crossing gates and repair loose bolts and faulty electrical connections and parts. And finally, they sometimes have to clean lenses of lamps with cloths and solvents.

Like many other jobs, signal and track switch repairers must be thorough and dependable and be reliable.

Similar jobs with educational opportunities in Rancho Cucamonga include:

Electrical Line Worker. Install or repair cables or wires used in electrical power or distribution systems. May erect poles and light or heavy duty transmission towers.

Television Cable Installer. String and repair telephone and television cable, including fiber optics and other equipment for transmitting messages or television programming.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: Signal and Track Switch Repairer Training

Barstow Community College - Barstow, CA

Barstow Community College, 2700 Barstow Road, Barstow, CA 92311. Barstow Community College is a small college located in Barstow, California. It is a public school with primarily 2-year programs and has 2,318 students. Barstow Community College has an associate's degree and a two to four year program in Electrician.

Everest College-San Bernardino - San Bernardino, CA

Everest College-San Bernardino, 217 E. Club Center Drive, Ste. A, San Bernardino, CA 92408. Everest College-San Bernardino is a small college located in San Bernardino, California. It is a private for-profit school with primarily 2-year programs. It has 256 students and an admission rate of 47%. Everest College-San Bernardino has a less than one year program in Electrician which graduated 101 students in 2008.

LOCATION INFORMATION: Rancho Cucamonga, California

Rancho Cucamonga, California photo by Sfan00_IMG

Rancho Cucamonga is situated in San Bernardino County, California. It has a population of over 171,176, which has grown by 34.0% in the past ten years. The cost of living index in Rancho Cucamonga, 128, is far greater than the national average. New single-family homes in Rancho Cucamonga are valued at $207,800 on average, which is far less than the state average. In 2008, one hundred fifty-nine new homes were built in Rancho Cucamonga, down from five hundred eighty-three the previous year.

The top three industries for women in Rancho Cucamonga are educational services, health care, and finance and insurance. For men, it is construction, public administration, and educational services. The average commute to work is about 32 minutes. More than 23.3% of Rancho Cucamonga residents have a bachelor's degree, which is lower than the state average. The percentage of residents with a graduate degree, 7.3%, is lower than the state average.

The unemployment rate in Rancho Cucamonga is 9.2%, which is less than California's average of 12.3%.

The percentage of Rancho Cucamonga residents that are affiliated with a religious congregation, 42.0%, is less than both the national and state average. Alta Loma Christian Church, Grace Fellowship Church and The Lords House are all churches located in Rancho Cucamonga. The largest religious groups are the Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist Convention and the LDS (Mormon) Church.

Rancho Cucamonga is home to the Etiwanda Fire Station and the John Rains House as well as Victoria Groves Park and Hermosa Park. Shopping malls in the area include Alta Loma Plaza Shopping Center, Alta Loma Square Shopping Center and AltaLoma Country Village Shopping Center.